The Bleak Future
by simsperson56
Summary: Mr. Peabody decides to surprise Sherman for his birthday by showing him the future in the WABAC. Unfortunately, they crash land in a dystopian society a thousand years into the future with no feelings, war, or pain. Mr. Peabody and Sherman must blend in with the other people and rebuild the WABAC while steering clear of the authorities.
1. Breakfast

**So, this is my first full-length multi-chapter story! It is also my first crossover story.**

**I want to make one thing clear right now. This story will not have any characters from The Giver. It will just take place in the same future society as the book. If you have read The Giver (which most of you probably have), the story will make more sense. If you haven't, you could probably still read it without much confusion, as it doesn't have any characters from it.**

**Also, another thing. Don't count on me updating frequently all the time. I have three other stories to worry about on FictionPress, plus my annoying brother and school.**

**This story does not take place in the same timeline as my other stories.**

**Onto the story!**

* * *

It was only two days until Sherman's birthday, and he was getting really excited. He had spent the last several days playing his 3DS and taking the occasional trip on the WABAC, but that didn't suffice. Mr. Peabody had promised him lots of presents when he got home from school, and that alone was making the wait unbearable.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in New York City. The skies were painted bright blue, the trees green with tints of yellow and orange. Flocks of birds danced in the sky, enjoying the warm weather before it got cold and the birds would be forced to head south for the winter.

Sherman lay on his bed playing his 3DS again. He was getting extremely frustrated, for it was the billionth time he died on the final boss in Yoshi's New Island. He kept getting hit by enemies and being forced to listen to Baby Mario's ear-piercing cry.

Meanwhile, Mr. Peabody was in the kitchen, cooking Sherman's favourite breakfast: chocolate chip pancakes.

"Sherman's going to love these chocolate chip pancakes," Mr. Peabody mumbled to himself, before grabbing a nearby spatula and placing the last pancake on the plate. "Sherman!" he called.

Footsteps could be heard from Sherman's room, before the door swung open and Sherman came stumbling out.

"I made chocolate chip pancakes!" Mr. Peabody declared.

Sherman's face instantly lit up like a Christmas tree. "Yay! Thanks, Mr. Peabody!"

Mr. Peabody said nothing, but smiled. He grabbed a few of the pancakes and put them on a seperate plate for himself. He sat at the dining table next to Sherman, who had already poured a boatload of maple syrup on his food.

"Are we going on a trip in the WABAC today?" Sherman asked, before taking a big bite of food.

"We could. Where do you want to go?" Mr. Peabody replied.

Sherman stayed silent for a few seconds. "Well, I'm getting sick of going to the past."

"Oh?" said Mr. Peabody, sounding interested. "I think I know where this is going."

"Can the WABAC go into the future? I've never been there before."

"That reminds me!" Mr. Peabody piped up. "The WABAC isn't really built for going into the future. But I have been working on changing the machine so it is."

Sherman didn't say anything.

"It should be ready in a few days," Mr. Peabody added.

"These pancakes are good," Sherman said, changing the subject.

Mr. Peabody was taken aback by the sudden change in the subject, but he decided it would be best to not say anything. "Yes, they are quite good, aren't they?"

Sherman took his last bite of the pancakes and started getting up and walking towards his room again. He didn't make it very far before Mr. Peabody spoke up again.

"Remember to put your plate in the sink!" he yelled.

Sherman ran back and put the dirty plate in the sink before running off to his room again.

Mr. Peabody got up to put both of their plates in the dishwasher. "Oh, Sherman," he mumbled to himself. "Just wait until your birthday. I've got a surprise for you."

* * *

**There is the first chapter! Sorry it was kind of short, but the second chapter will probably be a lot longer. Feedback is appreciated!**

**Stay tuned for more.**


	2. Happy Birthday

**Ugh, this chapter took a while to write. I spent three hours writing this. Although I kept getting distracted...**

**Enjoy the next chapter of The Bleak Future.**

* * *

"Happy birthday, Sherman!" Mr. Peabody yelled.

It was Monday morning, which was normally the worst time of the week for Sherman. He was a bit groggy but the excitement was enough to keep him from falling back asleep.

"Thank you, Mr. Peabody!" Sherman replied.

"I just made some blueberry muffins for breakfast!" said Mr. Peabody. "Help yourself!"

Sherman turned his head toward the window. Unlike the last two days, the weather was grey and cloudy. It wasn't raining, but it wasn't sunny, either.

Sherman finally got out of bed and did his usual morning routine. First he grabbed a couple muffins, then he took a shower, got dressed, and then a bunch of other useless tasks that he always had to do every morning.

Finally, when Sherman was all ready and started to get his backpack ready, the phone rang. Mr. Peabody was right beside it, but instead of answering the phone, he just peered at the caller ID.

"Sherman!" Mr. Peabody called. "It's Penny!"

"I'll get it!" Sherman yelled, dropping his backpack and running towards the phone. "Hello?" he said.

"Happy birthday, Sherman!" Penny squealed on the other end.

"Thanks, Penny!" Sherman replied.

"Can I come over to your house after school today?" asked Penny.

"Hold on, I have to ask Mr. Peabody first."

"Ask me what?" Mr. Peabody chimed in.

"Can Penny come over after school?" said Sherman.

"Of course she can!" Mr. Peabody exclaimed, before grabbing another one of his delicious blueberry muffins.

"You can come over, Penny!" Sherman announced into the phone.

Penny squealed, said goodbye, and then hung up the phone.

Sherman then proceeded to finish getting his backpack ready. But not before grabbing a couple more blueberry muffins.

* * *

Mr. Peabody loved Sherman, but he sometimes got on Mr. Peabody's nerves a little bit. While he was driving Sherman to school on his scooter, he kept going on and on about how excited he was for his presents.

"Maybe I'll get a new game! Or maybe even a new game system!" Sherman excitedly spoke.

"Yes, Sherman," Mr. Peabody blankly replied.

"What about some toys? Maybe I'll get toys as well!"

"Yes, Sherman."

"Maybe I'll get some books as well!"

"Yes, Sherman."

Luckily, Mr. Peabody was a calm dog. He was easily able to endure a few more minutes of this before he finally pulled up in front of the school.

"Have a good day at school, Sherman!" Mr. Peabody exclaimed.

"Thanks, Mr. Peabody!" Sherman replied.

"And remember, Sherman! Even though it is your birthday, it's still just a normal school day! Stay on your best behaviour, and-"

"Bye, Mr. Peabody!" Sherman called from afar, before running off into the school.

Mr. Peabody felt sadness creeping over him. "Not again," he sighed. He slowly strapped on his helmet and drove away.

* * *

The first part of the school day was relatively normal, the only difference being the occasional happy birthday from his friends and his annoying class singing the Happy Birthday Song.

When lunch came, Sherman sat down next to his friends as usual. He grabbed his tuna sandwich and began to eat it.

"Tuna again?" Penny questioned. "Is that _all _you eat?"

"So?" said Sherman. "I like tuna."

"Can't tell," Mason said sarcastically.

All of Sherman's friends giggled.

"Guys! That's not funny!" Sherman yelled.

"Yeah, you're right. It's not funny," said Penny, trying to keep a straight face. "It was hilarious!" The group began to laugh again.

"Are you done?" Sherman groaned.

Penny finally calmed down. "Done what?" she asked innocently.

"Done being annoying!" Sherman snapped.

"Sorry," said Penny. "But remember the time when you had a tuna sandwich and then I stole it and called you a dog? Then I blew your dog whistle?"

"Yeah," Sherman replied. "Then you strangled me and I bit your arm."

Penny and Sherman collectively sighed happily, while Mason and Carl were giving them strange looks.

"You guys are so weird," Mason teased.

"Thank you!" Penny squealed. "I take great pride in being weird."

"I can't wait until I get home!" Sherman exclaimed. "That's when I get my presents!"

"Problem," said Penny. "We have math for an hour after recess."

Sherman groaned.

* * *

After a boring math class and an even more boring science class, it was finally time to go home. Although during science, the teacher called Sherman over to tell him that Mr. Peabody wouldn't be able to pick him and his friend up and that they would have to walk home.

The clouds had broken up a little bit, and the ground was being illuminated by the isolated streams of sunlight. The walk home was pretty boring. All Sherman and Penny did was talk about the strangest things in the history of mankind (and maybe even the world), including their "good" memories about when Penny bullied Sherman.

It was when they got home that another peculiar event occurred. When the elevator doors slid open, the apartment was quiet and dark. There was no sign of Sherman's father.

"Mr. Peabody?" Sherman called.

There was no reply.

"Mr. Peabody, where are you? I want my presents!"

Penny giggled.

"Not funny, Penny!" Sherman hissed.

"Honestly, is that all you care about? Presents?" Penny asked.

Sherman sighed. "Do you want the truth or a very convincing lie?"

"A very convincing lie," Penny replied sarcastically.

"I couldn't care less," Sherman grumbled in response.

Suddenly, Sherman's eyes picked up something. There was a note on the fridge. Maybe Mr. Peabody left it there?

"There's a note," Penny stated. "I wonder what it says?"

Sherman grabbed the note and began to read it.

_Sherman,_

_I'm so sorry I made you two walk home. But I have a surprise for you. Come and meet me in the WABAC when you get this note. Penny can come too._

_P.S. You will get your presents when we get back._

_- Mr. Peabody_

"Aww..." Sherman groaned. "I don't get my presents?"

"Seriously, Sherman?" Penny hollered. "Come on. Let's go see where Mr. Peabody is taking us."

Deep inside, Sherman already knew where he was about to go. He would finally get to see the future.

* * *

**I liked writing that chapter. Especially the end. Sherman really is obsessed with presents, isn't he? I would appreciate some feedback!**


	3. Into the Future

**It was a bit longer of a wait for this chapter. Sorry guys. But nothing you can't handle, right?**

**Here is the third chapter of The Bleak Future.**

* * *

Sherman and Penny crossed the long hallway up to the WABAC to meet Mr. Peabody, who was already sitting in the chair.

"Ready to see the future, Sherman?" he asked.

"We get to go to the future? Awesome!" Penny exclaimed.

"So how far in the future will we go?" Sherman questioned.

"Just a few minutes," Mr. Peabody replied.

All he got in response was silence and annoyed glares from Sherman and Penny. He began to snicker. "Just kidding!" he declared.

Sherman and Penny breathed a sigh of relief.

"How about two hundred years?" Mr. Peabody asked.

The kids turned to each other. "Two hundred seems a bit much," Sherman moaned. "I was thinking one hundred."

"Are you kidding?" said Penny. "Three hundred for me!"

"Isn't two hundred halfway between one and three hundred?" asked Sherman.

Penny sat there in deep thought for several seconds before she finally spoke. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"We'll go two hundred years, Mr. Peabody!" Sherman called out.

Without saying anything, Mr. Peabody pressed a green button, and the ceiling began to open up to reveal a circular hole. Mr. Peabody drove the WABAC out of the building and up towards the sky.

"You guys might want to hold on tight!" Mr. Peabody screamed. "We'll be going really fast!"

Sure enough, Mr. Peabody floored it. The WABAC zoomed at an unimaginably high speed up towards the sky. Sherman and Penny were jolted towards the back of their seats. The speedometer continued to rise. Two hundred, three hundred, four hundred miles per hour. Eventually, when it seemed like the WABAC couldn't go any faster, Mr. Peabody pressed another green button. The scenery quickly changed from a birds' eye view of New York City to a big purple vortex. The WABAC slowed down, and Sherman and Penny were no longer pinned to their seats.

"Wow..." said Penny, admiring the scenery, which was really nothing but purple.

"There's nothing outside, Penny," Sherman scoffed.

Penny groaned. "I know, Sherman. I just like to look at the purpleness."

Sherman burst out laughing at that comment. "What kind of word is purpleness!?" he said.

"You're used to it," Penny blurted out, not answering his question. "You see this vortex all the time."

Meanwhile, there was a convenient electronic clock that Sherman was staring at. As Mr. Peabody travelled through time, the date on the clock began to change. At first, it was just a few days every second. As the WABAC sped up, weeks flew by, which turned to months, and finally years.

"Oh, I can't wait to see the future!" Penny squealed. "I wonder what it will be like? Flying cars, automatic cars... ooh! Maybe quiet vacuums! I've always wanted those!"

"Yeah," Sherman agreed. "I have wanted to see the future for a long time. And then I'll get my presents!"

Penny rolled her eyes.

"Well, we will just have to see for ourselves!" Mr. Peabody chimed in. "I will admit, I am quite excited to see the future myself."

"So are we!" Sherman declared.

Mr. Peabody glanced over at the electronic clock. "We are now entering the 23rd century!" he announced.

"So are we almost there?" Penny asked.

"Yes, we are!" Mr. Peabody exclaimed. "Just ten more years!" He began to slow down the WABAC.

All of a sudden, Sherman noticed something. It was a giant red button, right next to the gas pedal.

"What is that?" Sherman asked, pointing at the button.

"Oh that?" Mr. Peabody replied. "It's just something- wah!" Mr. Peabody screamed when he saw the worst possible thing. Sherman had his foot over the button. Oh no! He was about to press it! "Sherman, no!" Mr. Peabody panicked. "Don't press that!"

Too late. Sherman pressed the big red button, and the WABAC zoomed ahead. Before long, the time machine had crossed into the 24th century, meaning that they had missed their destination by a landslide. Sherman and Penny were once again pinned to their seats.

"You idiot!" Penny screamed. "Why did you do that?"

"I was curious!" Sherman rebutted.

"You could have killed us all!" Penny scolded.

Mr. Peabody tried desperately to slow the WABAC down, but it was taking way too long. They had already gone a few hundred years past the date they were supposed to travel to.

"Sherman, you really shouldn't have pressed that!" Mr. Peabody hollered, throwing his paws in the air. "We're way off course!"

Unfortunately, his left paw accidentally swerved the steering wheel, and the WABAC was thrown into a random wormhole. In an instant, the purple vortex gave way to a bright landscape again. Mr. Peabody had enough time to look around at the sky. There wasn't a single cloud. But where was the sun?

He looked towards the electronic clock. They were way off course. They had travelled a thousand years into the future. The display clearly read _11/18/3014._

"Mr. Peabody!" Sherman yelled, snapping him out of the trance. "We're going down!"

The dog tried to slow down the WABAC again, but it was no use. There was no way the machine would slow down in time to prevent a crash.

"We're going to crash!" Mr. Peabody yelled.

"It was nice knowing you," Sherman muttered.

"You too," Penny responded.

Suddenly, the time machine struck the ground with an unimaginable force. The air bags puffed out and protected the trio, but the WABAC wasn't protected. At least half of it was completely destroyed.

"Are you guys okay?" Mr. Peabody called out.

"Yeah..." Sherman and Penny groaned.

"Oh no," Mr. Peabody said, looking at the damage. "The WABAC is completely destroyed!"

"So that's it?" Sherman yelled. "We're stuck in the future? Forever?"

"No, Sherman. Not forever," Mr. Peabody replied. He scavenged around the rubble for a minute or two before grabbing a bunch of blueprints. "I'm always prepared."

"There's a town over there," Penny blurted, pointing towards a series of buildings.

"Let's go there," Mr. Peabody ordered. "We'll see what it's like."

"How far into the future did we go, anyways?" questioned Sherman.

Mr. Peabody got a grim look on his face. "A thousand years," he muttered.

Penny squealed with delight. "Awesome! They'll definitely have quiet vacuum cleaners!"

"Really, Penny?" Sherman laughed. "And you were getting mad at _me _for wanting my..." he drifted off and got rather depressed. Mr. Peabody had promised him presents when he got back. Which may not be for a really long time.

Mr. Peabody looked towards the destroyed WABAC one last time. "Well, curiosity killed the WABAC."

"Ha ha ha..." Sherman weakly laughed, "I don't get it."

* * *

**Uh oh, Sherman and Penny are trapped a thousand years into the future. They're going to have a lot of fun.**

**Feedback is appreciated.**


	4. The Community

**Ugh, I was so bored today. It has been SNOWING. All day. It's not accumulating, but it's annoying nonetheless. I had nothing to do, so I typed up the fourth chapter for you guys. Enjoy.**

**P.S. I do not live at the North Pole! Or in an igloo.**

* * *

As the trio continued to trek towards the town, they all began to notice something strange. The sun was nowhere to be found. Yet the sky was bright and cloudless, and the temperature was perfectly comfortable.

Not only that, the buildings in the community weren't futuristic at all. They looked like some regular buildings that you might find in the present.

"Why aren't the buildings futuristic?" asked Sherman.

Mr. Peabody sighed. "I don't know," he replied. "I guess we'll have to find out."

Eventually, the group came up to the entrance of the town, which wasn't like an ordinary entrance. It was a metal gate guarded by two regular men.

Mr. Peabody turned to Sherman and Penny. "Alright guys, here's the plan," he began. "I'll go find a hotel in the town, and we'll stay there for a while. Just stand there and let me do any talking. Am I clear?"

"Yes," Sherman replied.

Mr. Peabody walked up to the guards.

"May I help you?" the left guard questioned.

"Yes, I would like to stay at a hotel in the town," said Mr. Peabody.

However, instead of being pointed to a hotel or allowed in the town, the guards exchanged puzzled looks.

"Hotel?" the right guard asked.

"You mean a _dwelling,_" the left guard corrected.

Mr. Peabody was confused, but he didn't show it. "Yes, a dwelling."

The guards stayed silent for a while. They still had confused looks on their faces. Finally, the right guard broke the silence. "May I ask what community you are from? You look quite... different."

_But I'm a dog, _Mr. Peabody thought. _Do they even know that?_

"It's very far away," said Mr. Peabody. "We have different rules there."

Fortunately, the guards bought it.

"I can see that you already have two children," said the left guard. "One male and one female. Perfect."

Penny got a freaked out expression on her face, but Sherman motioned her to stay silent.

After that, Mr. Peabody had a small form to fill out. He was handed a pen and a small piece of paper. The only thing it asked was the birth dates and the names of Sherman and Penny. For Sherman, Mr. Peabody filled in _November 18, 3006._ For Penny, he just picked a random day in October of the same year. Though those weren't their actual birthdays.

Mr. Peabody handed the form back to the guards. "Your house is number 349," the left guard said.

What Mr. Peabody wanted to say at that moment was, 'You don't even get to choose your house?'. Instead he just said, "Thank you."

The metal doors swung open and the trio entered the town.

"Mr. Peabody?" said Sherman.

"Yes, Sherman?" Mr. Peabody replied.

"Shouldn't you have paid for the house?"

Mr. Peabody froze in place. Sherman was right. Wasn't he supposed to pay? Maybe not. "He never asked for any money. Maybe you don't need money here."

"Maybe..." Sherman muttered.

The trio looked around the town. It wasn't the least bit futuristic. There weren't even cars. Everyone rode around on bikes. There were no trees, plants, or any other vegetation. All the houses looked pretty identical.

"What the heck, every house looks the same!" Penny snapped.

"That's so weird," Mr. Peabody blankly replied.

Luckily, the group didn't have to walk very far. Pretty soon, they came up to a grey house with _349 _written on a sign on the concrete lawn.

"Well, this is it," said Penny.

"Ugh. The future really isn't that impressive," Sherman complained.

All of a sudden, Mr. Peabody noticed something next to the front door. There was a basket with a piece of paper and a booklet.

"What's that?" asked Sherman, pointing at the booklet. He picked up the piece of paper and read it.

_Rules of Our Community_

_1. You are required to use precise language at all times._

_2. You may not lie to anyone in the community._

_3. Stirrings must be reported so you can begin treatment_

_4. You must apologize whenever to do something wrong._

_5. You must share dreams at breakfast._

_6. You must share feelings at dinner._

_7. You cannot ride a bike before the age of nine._

_8. Adults and children must not look at each others' nakedness. This does not apply to newchildren or the Old._

_9. You can only have two children, one male and one female._

_10. If you commit three transgressions, you must be released._

_11. You are forbidden to leave your dwelling at night_

_12. You must wear your assigned uniforms at all times._

"What the heck?" Sherman yelled. "These rules are dumb!"

"Let's just go inside," Penny sighed.

Mr. Peabody grabbed the booklet from the basket. The trio went inside the house. Another strange thing; the house was already furnished. There was no TV or bookshelf in the living room, and there was no kitchen. Mr. Peabody took the rule sheet from Sherman and set both the sheet and the booklet on a kitchen island.

"So, what do you think of this town?" Mr. Peabody asked.

"It's stupid," said Sherman.

"Those guards thought I was your daughter!" Penny shivered.

"Look, Penny," said Mr. Peabody calmly. "I know I'm not your dad. But you just have to play along, okay?"

"Okay," Penny replied.

"But how are we going to get back home?" questioned Sherman.

"I'll rebuild the WABAC," Mr. Peabody stated.

"How? This town seems really strict!" Penny screamed.

"Guys, I'm the smartest being in the world. I'll figure something out," Mr. Peabody explained. "Plus, I still have the blueprints." He held up the blueprints.

Sherman and Penny sighed. This was going to be a very long stay.

* * *

**All right, I hope you enjoyed chapter 4 of The Bleak Future! I want to make one thing clear right now. The community is pretty much the same as the one in the book, but there will be some slight changes. I was reading the book for novel study, and I have to return it next week. Plus, I can't just go out and buy the book. **

**Please let me know if you're enjoying the story!**


	5. Needle-Nosed Jet

**So, last chapter I said that I couldn't just go out and buy The Giver. Well, I was wrong. We went to Chapters yesterday and I bought it. At least now I can use it for references.**

**I present the fifth chapter of The Bleak Future.**

* * *

Three hours had passed since the WABAC crashed, and Sherman and Penny were bored out of their minds. There was nothing around the house with a screen on it, so the kids were forced to play hide-and-seek and tag, but that got boring fast. When they complained to Mr. Peabody, he suggested that they try on their new unifroms that had recently been delivered. The only reason they agreed was because there was nothing else to do.

Mr. Peabody was a dog, so his uniform didn't fit him. However, he was smart, so he just stretched it out so it would fit him.

Eventually, Sherman and Penny groggily walked over to the living room, while Mr. Peabody sat on the chair, studying the blueprints for the WABAC.

"Mr. Peabody?" Sherman asked.

Mr. Peabody looked up from his blueprints. "Yes, Sherman?" he replied.

"Can Penny and I go outside and check out the town?"

Mr. Peabody looked suspicious. "You two are going out there alone?"

"Mr. Peabody!" Sherman hissed, feeling rather embarrassed.

"So can we?" Penny piped up.

"Eh..." Mr. Peabody started, "I don't think-"

"Thanks, Mr. Peabody!" Penny yelled, turning towards the door.

"Bye!" Sherman screamed.

"Wait, what?" said Mr. Peabody with a shocked and scared expression in his voice. "I didn't say yes!"

Unfortunately, the front door was already beginning to close.

"Guys! Come back!"

But it was no use. The door closed and Mr. Peabody was left standing there. For some odd reason, Mr. Peabody's original plan was to sit there and hope that the kids didn't get into any trouble. However, within a minute, Mr. Peabody had already thought of over twenty reasons why it was a bad idea to let Sherman and Penny wander around the town by themselves. That was enough to convince Mr. Peabody to throw on his tunic and head out to find them.

At least Sherman and Penny were wearing their uniforms.

* * *

"God, look at this place," Penny complained. "It's full of bikers."

The duo wandered through the streets of the community, looking at all the buildings. Aside from the houses, all the buildings looked perfectly normal. And different.

Sherman took the time to peek at all the signs. There was the House of the Old. The House of Records. The Childcare Centre.

Boring.

"Something bad must have happened to the world," Sherman mumbled.

"No kidding. Look at this place! No quiet vacuum cleaners!"

Sherman groaned. "Would you stop with that, Penny?"

"But vacuum cleaners are so loud and annoying!" Penny moaned.

All of a sudden, Sherman saw a black blip in the sky. Squinting, he noticed something rather familiar and common in the present.

A jet. A needle-nosed jet. As it grew closer, it began to look like a blur due to its enormously high speed. Then, a second later, there was a blast of sound.

"At least the planes seem futuristic," Penny pointed out.

The strange thing was the peoples' reactions. Instead of paying no attention to it, they seemed to stare at the jet with fascinated expressions. Some people looked terrified. They were watching it like a shuttle was launching.

Then, the blip appeared again. The same needle-nosed jet crossed the sky again, this time from the opposite direction.

_Attention. _Said a voice with an urgent tone. _Please go into the nearest building and stay there. Immediately. Leave your bicycles where they are._

Sure enough, everyone began abandoning their bikes and taking off towards the nearest building. The streets were beginning to empty out.

But why? It was just a plane. Or was the world going to war?

"What do we do?" Sherman panicked.

"Just go into the nearest building!" Penny yelled.

"But-"

"Go!" Penny screamed, pushing Sherman into the House of the Old.

The duo found themselves in registry room, with an attendant at the front desk, who had a nervous look on her face. A massive group of people was piling into the building.

Then, silence. For several minutes, the town fell into an eerie silence. There was nobody wandering around the streets. Nothing but a bunch of bikes lying around the place. There seemed to be tension filling the air.

Finally, the same voice that ordered everyone inside spoke again, this time with a less urgent tone. _We apologize for inconveniencing our community. A Pilot-in-Training has misread his navigational instructions and made a wrong turn. He desperately tried to make his way back before his error was noticed. Needless to say, he will be released._

The people calmed down and began to exit the building.

"Release?" Penny questioned. "What is that? Do they banish him from the town or something?"

Sherman shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know."

"Sherman. Penny," said a voice.

The kids turned around to find Mr. Peabody staring at them with a stern look. "Why did you run off from me like that?" he said.

"You gave us permission," said Sherman.

"No I did not!" Mr. Peabody replied. "You ran off before I could answer."

"We're sorry, Mr. Peabody," Sherman croaked.

"You should be sorry. Come on. We're going home."

Sherman and Penny groaned.

* * *

**If you've read The Giver, you ****probably know what plane that is supposed to be. I really don't have much to say this time.**

**Bye for now.**


	6. The Evening Meal

**Sorry I haven't updated this story in a while, I've been busy writing my other multi-chapter story, The Fan. I've kept you guys waiting long enough, so here is chapter six of The Bleak Future.**

* * *

Mr. Peabody dragged Sherman and Penny back to their house and shut the door behind them.

"Well?" Mr. Peabody asked. "Why did you run off?"

"We just wanted to explore," Sherman muttered.

"Well, why didn't you ask me for permission?" Mr. Peabody demanded.

"We did!" Penny protested.

"Why didn't you wait for me to say something?"

Sherman and Penny stayed silent.

However, Mr. Peabody didn't continue to scold Sherman and Penny. Instead he just sighed. "Well, since it's technically Sherman's birthday, and I'm not Penny's dad," he mumbled to himself.

Sherman and Penny waited nervously for Mr. Peabody's punishment.

"I'm going to let you guys off with a warning!" Mr. Peabody concluded. "But do not run off like that! You could get into serious trouble!"

"Sorry, Mr. Peabody," Sherman mumbled.

"You should be sorry," said Mr. Peabody.

Sherman and Penny lay down on the couch and relaxed. There wasn't much conversation between the three of them for a while.

* * *

"Attention, everyone. It is now seven o'clock in the evening. Please return to your proper dwellings. The evening meal will arrive shortly."

The skies were now fairly dark, and the community quickly fell into an eerie silence as the citizens returned to their dwellings.

The announcement on the speaker caused a bunch of confusion in Mr. Peabody, Sherman, and Penny.

"They make everyone go inside at seven every night?" Penny questioned.

"Lame," Sherman groaned.

"Maybe there's a good reason for it," Mr. Peabody stated.

Suddenly, the front door opened, and a regular-looking man stepped into the house. "Evening meal delivery," he said blankly.

Mr. Peabody got rather confused by the intrusion, but didn't say anything. He simply grabbed the three plates of burgers and delivered them to Sherman and Penny, while the delivery guy shut the door and left.

"Have these people ever heard of knocking?" Penny said disgusted.

"The doors don't even have locks on them," Sherman pointed out.

"And you don't even get to choose what to eat!" Penny complained.

"You guys like burgers, right?" Mr. Peabody chimed in.

Sherman and Penny nodded.

"Then there isn't much of a problem now, is there?" said Mr. Peabody.

Sherman took a big bite of his burger. "At least the food tastes normal," he muttered.

Mr. Peabody sighed. "So, I was looking in the rule book, and-"

"You were looking in the book of rules?" Sherman teased, before Sherman and Penny broke down in a fit of giggles.

"Anyway," Peabody grumbled impatiently, "apparently one of the traditions here is to share your feelings at dinner time."

"Well _I _am feeling rather annoyed," Sherman and Penny scoffed at the same time.

"Jinx!" Penny yelled.

"Under a white roof!" Sherman declared, pointing at the roof.

"Who cares?" Penny grumbled.

"Guys!" Mr. Peabody interrupted. "You guys don't need to start fighting now!"

Penny sadly took a bite of her burger.

"Mr. Peabody," Sherman started, "does the book say anything about why people aren't allowed outside at night?"

Mr. Peabody grabbed the book off the counter and began to flip through it. "Let's see," he said, skimming through the walls of text that littered every page of the rule book.

"So far, I really don't like this place," Sherman grumbled to Penny.

"Me neither," Penny complained, "there's no quiet vacuum cleaners here!"

"Is that all you care about?" Sherman scoffed.

"Hey, you keep making a big deal about your presents! Honestly, how good could they possibly-"

"I found something!" Mr. Peabody hollered, happy that he had found the info that he was looking for at the perfect time to prevent another one of Sherman and Penny's infamous battles.

"Good, what does it say?" Penny questioned.

Mr. Peabody began to read the book aloud. "We do not allow regular citizens to leave their dwellings for a twelve hour period between 7 pm and 7 am every night. Many services, including delivery of medication, are suspended during this period."

Sherman and Penny remained silent.

"It doesn't say a reason?" said Sherman.

"Nope," Mr. Peabody muttered.

"They shut down services every night? That's so dumb!" Penny complained.

"I know!" Sherman agreed. "What happens if you break your leg at eight o'clock? You have to wait until morning to get treatment?"

"I don't know," Mr. Peabody stated.

All of a sudden, the speakers came to life again. "Attention, everyone. It is almost 7:15. Please finish up your meals and place the dishes by the front door for The Collection Crew to pick up."

Luckily, Sherman and Penny were finishing up their dishes at that point. Mr. Peabody grabbed everybody's dishes and placed them outside the front door. He didn't want to place them inside because he didn't want another random stranger in their house.

"So, how are you going to rebuild the WABAC?" Sherman questioned after the dishes were put away.

Mr. Peabody sighed. "With scrap metal," he replied.

"How will you get that?" Sherman asked.

"By blowing stuff up."

"Cool!" Sherman yelled.

Suddenly, Penny chimed into the conversation. "This community doesn't let you do anything! You really think they're going to let you blow things up?"

"No, I don't think that," Mr. Peabody replied. "I'll think of a way."

"Wanna go check our bedrooms?" Penny blurted randomly.

"Yes, let's see them!" Sherman replied.

The bedrooms were on the second floor of the house, and there was a blue bedroom and a pink bedroom. Obviously, Penny took the pink one.

At ten o'clock that evening, the speaker declared that it was lights-out time. The community shut down completely at that point. The only people that remained outdoors were the people on the night-watching crew.

* * *

**I am quite proud of myself for finishing six chapters of this story. So, is the story good? Bad? Somewhere in between? Please let me know.**

**Stay tuned for more.**


	7. Conversations

**If you want to know why I haven't updated in a while, I was on vacation last week.**

**Here's chapter 7.**

* * *

"Where's the maple syrup?" Penny complained.

It was the second day at the community, and everyone was rather cranky. The announcement woke everybody up at seven o'clock and Sherman, Penny, and Mr. Peabody clearly weren't happy about it. Two minutes after the announcement, another random stranger barged into the house to deliver the morning meal. At that point, Peabody was forced to drag his tired body out of bed and go get the meal. It was just normal pancakes, but there was no butter. Or maple syrup.

Which led to that very moment.

"Where's the maple syrup?" Penny complained again.

"There _is _no maple syrup," Sherman scoffed.

"I need maple syrup! Pancakes are so bland without it!"

"You can't just eat them plain?"

"Guys, it's way too early to be fighting," Mr. Peabody groaned.

"Sorry," Penny squeaked, picking at her pancakes.

Mr. Peabody sighed. "You guys should be glad that they even have pancakes here."

"I just wish there was maple syrup!" Penny yelled.

Peabody sighed.

"Would you just forget about the stupid maple syrup?" Sherman screeched.

"Maple syrup is delicious and you know it!" Penny rebutted.

"Yeah, but can't you just eat your pancakes the way they are?"

"Guys..." Mr. Peabody groaned, but it was no use.

Suddenly, the front door swung open again and a blonde-haired woman stepped into the house in a hurry. "Hey!" she yelled.

The room fell silent.

"Um, come in?" said Mr. Peabody.

The woman looked apologetic. "Oh, I'm sorry for the intrusion. But I need to speak with Mr. Peabody."

"How do you know my name?" Mr. Peabody said surprised.

"Please Mr. Peabody. I need to speak with you. Privately," the woman said.

Peabody stood up and followed her to see what was up.

* * *

Mr. Peabody and the woman entered Peabody's new bedroom to have their private discussion.

"So what's this about?" Peabody questioned.

The woman sighed. "I am aware that you all are from the past."

"How'd you know?"

"You explained it to me."

"No I haven't."

The woman sighed again. "Look, you probably shouldn't tell this to the kids."

"I can't keep secrets! Keeping secrets does more harm than good!" Peabody protested.

"Trust me on this. If the kids know about this, they will be terrified."

Mr. Peabody pondered about the issue for a while, and then he sighed. "Alright, what is it?"

"Do you see that speaker on the wall?" said the woman, pointing at the speaker.

"Yes."

"I can hear everything you guys are saying."

Mr. Peabody suddenly stood up. "What? So anyone can hear our conversations?"

"No. Just me."

"What?"

The woman got a look of sadness on her face. "I should probably explain. In this time period, there aren't really feelings. There's no change. No weather, no temperature changes, no sunlight. The only reason this place doesn't freeze to death is because of Climate Control."

Mr. Peabody was heartbroken trying to absorb all of the facts.

"You see," the woman started again, "in the 21st century the world started falling apart. Rising gas prices, global warming, world wars, it was awful. The tropics became uninhabitable and people fled north. The coastlines were inundated."

"That's awful!" Mr. Peabody interrupted.

"It gets worse," said the woman. "The world was in hard times for a while, and then World War V broke out in the 2300s. The world was nearly destroyed. There was this group that stood up saying that advanced technology is dangerous and that we'd be better off without it. They managed to tear down all the futuristic cities and build these communities. They brainwashed everyone and got rid of colour vision."

"These people can't even see _colour?_" Mr. Peabody exclaimed.

The woman shook her head. "Nope. They can't. Their world is black and white. It's dull. Now there's no changes or memories. I'm the only one who has feelings and memories."

"How?"

"I'm a person called the Receiver. I store the memories so the community doesn't have to deal with them. I can hear anyone's conversations through the speakers. You, me, and the kids are the only ones here who see colour."

Mr. Peabody shifted uncomfortably. "I need to get back to my time period! People need to know what they're doing to the world!"

"I can help you rebuild the WABAC," the woman stated. "I know some things about time machines. They were becoming widespread before advanced technology became obsolete."

Without saying anything else, the woman got up and began to head towards the door.

"And by the way, my name is Lucy. I am also the only one here who is aware that you are a dog. Animals don't exist here either."

Lucy finally shut the door, but it wasn't shut for long before Sherman and Penny came running in.

"What was the conversation about?" Sherman begged.

Mr. Peabody sighed. He would normally scold Sherman for being nosy, but he wasn't in the mood for scolding, but he wasn't in the mood for confessing that they were being spied on as well.

"It was just about what happened to the world after our time," Peabody stated.

"What happened?" Penny questioned.

Mr. Peabody sighed and began to explain the events of the future world to the kids, while they stood there with upset expressions.

After they left, Mr. Peabody found a note on the ground next to the door.

_Mr. Peabody,_

_I am sorry if we got off on the wrong foot. If you would like to know more information, please come meet me in the Annex room. Present yourself to the attendant when you enter. The building is behind the House of the Old._

_Lucy_

Peabody smiled. He was glad that Sherman and Penny didn't notice the note. But still, he had to confess about the spying thing to them eventually.

Eventually.

* * *

**So, I'm not sure if dogs can see colour like humans can, but Mr. Peabody isn't a normal dog, so he can see full colour like us. **

**Stay tuned for more chapters, and feedback is appreciated!**


	8. The Plan

**Sorry I haven't updated for so long. I've been focusing on my new story, The New Dimension, and I've been stumped on this chapter for a while. I finally got a decent idea so here is chapter 8.**

* * *

"Where are we going?" Sherman questioned as Mr. Peabody and Penny exited their house.

Mr. Peabody sighed. "We're going to find out more about how to get back home."

"Yes! I'm already sick of this place!" Penny complained.

"Tell me about it," Sherman agreed. "The rules are so stupid."

The three hopped on their provided bike and Mr. Peabody slowly began to cycle through the town. Sherman and Penny peered around at everybody going on their normal business, showing very little emotion.

"Justin!" a voice called out. "You forgot your pill!"

"What pill?" Sherman asked Penny.

"I don't know," replied Penny. "Hopefully it's a pill to make these people act less like zombies."

Sherman snickered.

Mr. Peabody looked to the left to see the first person besides Lucy to show some emotion. It wasn't in a very good way though, for the toddler was running around screaming.

"That's enough, Thirty-six!" a female voice scolded.

Sherman and Penny snickered.

"What kind of name is Thirty-six?" Penny chuckled.

"Anything is possible in this world," Sherman scoffed.

"Here we are!" Mr. Peabody announced, stopping the bike in front of the House of the Old. Sherman and Penny instantly looked up at the building with intrigued looks.

"Hey, this is where Mr. Peabody found us yesterday!" Penny piped up.

"We're not actually going in that building," Mr. Peabody said blankly.

"We're not?" Penny replied.

"No. The building we're going to is _behind _this one." Mr. Peabody began to wander towards the back of the House of the Old.

"Where are we going?" Penny asked.

"We're going to a place," Sherman replied, snickering.

Penny sighed. "I got that much, Sherman."

The trio eventually came up to the Annex, which was really just a small wing attached to the House of the Old. There was an ordinary door in the front, with a heavy handle and a buzzer next to it. Mr. Peabody reached for the buzzer, assuming that it would be a better idea to buzz instead of coming right on in.

"Yes?" said a voice.

"I'm here to see the-" Mr. Peabody started.

"Come on in," said the voice, and the door clicked.

Sherman shrugged. "That was easy," he stated.

Peabody swung the door open to find a woman working as an attendant at a lone desk. With one press of a button, another door to the right clicked open.

"The Receiver wants to see you. Just go through the door on the right," the attendant explained.

"Thank you," said Mr. Peabody, wandering into the room, Sherman and Penny following closely behind.

The first thing Sherman and Penny noticed when they walked into the room was that it was way different than any other room in the community. The furniture was more luxurious and there were many bookshelves, with books stacking up to the ceiling. There could be so much useful information in those books.

"You came," said Lucy, who was sitting near a desk. "I knew you would."

"Yes, Sherman and Penny are quite desperate to get back home," Mr. Peabody replied.

"We have a lot to discuss," said Lucy, "but there's something you need to do first."

"What?" Mr. Peabody asked.

Lucy lowered her voice to a whisper, "You might want to tell the kids to leave."

Mr. Peabody turned around in his seat to face the kids, who were scouring the bookshelves to see what kinds of books they could find.

"I'm not so sure," said Mr. Peabody. "They don't look like they want to leave."

"Mr. Peabody, there are many risks to getting the time machine fixed, and they're little kids! They'll be scarred for life if they hear how dangerous it is!"

Mr. Peabody sighed, turned towards the kids, then sighed again. "Sherman? Penny? You're going to have to leave."

As expected, Sherman and Penny looked devastated. "Why?" Penny asked.

"You wouldn't understand," Peabody replied.

"We just got here!" Sherman complained.

"It'll take two minutes," Mr. Peabody said calmly.

"That's still too long!" Sherman whined.

"Sherman..." Mr. Peabody said sternly.

Penny sighed. "Fine, we're going. Come on, Sherman."

The two finally left the room while they were grumbling under their breath.

Lucy sighed. "Like I said, there are many risks to re-building the machine. We will have to blow up stuff to get scrap metal."

"I've already got that much," said Mr. Peabody.

"You probably already know this, but there's no way the community will let us blow things up."

"Yeah," Mr. Peabody sighed.

"We need to discuss a plan. What I'm thinking is that we take the objects and sneak out of the community. Then we blow them up."

Mr. Peabody sighed. "I'm not fond of sneaking out."

"Do you have a better idea?"

Mr. Peabody said nothing.

"That's what I thought. We'll go with that for now, and if you have a better idea you can tell me."

Suddenly, knocking pierced through the air of the Annex room. "It's been two minutes, Mr. Peabody," Sherman scoffed.

"I'm almost done!" Mr. Peabody announced.

"See, the kids can't hear this. There's also a chance you can get... released."

"What exactly is that?"

Lucy sighed. "Well, it's actually a euphemism."

"For what?"

"Murder."

"WHAT!?"

The knocking became audible once again. "Are you almost done?"

"Yes, Sherman!" Mr. Peabody called out.

"Don't worry, Mr. Peabody," Lucy resumed, "I'll make sure we don't get caught."

"Hurry up!" Sherman yelled. "What's taking you so long? We don't have all day!"

Mr. Peabody sighed. He wanted to scold Sherman for being rude, but he was feeling considerate at the time. "I guess I don't really have a choice."

"We will meet tonight at 6:30. Not too long before the nightly curfew."

Without saying anything, Mr. Peabody walked over and opened the door to let Sherman in, but instead he got a nasty surprise. Sherman and Penny toppled over and fell on the floor, meaning that they were leaning against the door. That could only mean...

"Were you guys eavesdropping?" Mr. Peabody said sternly.

"What! No!" Sherman spoke quickly, "you see, I-I-I..."

"Come with me," Mr. Peabody commanded.

"Argh!" Sherman complained.

* * *

**There's chapter 8! Don't worry, I will make sure to update sooner this time! I haven't abandoned the story. So stay tuned for more, and feedback is appreciated.**


	9. Explosive Situation

**I am keeping my promise from before and I now have chapter 9 out. I hope you guys enjoy it!**

* * *

Mr. Peabody dragged Sherman and Penny back into their home with an angered expression. First it was running off without him, and now it was eavesdropping on his conversation with Lucy. He had to do something, fast.

Mr. Peabody shut the front door. "What were you thinking?" he scolded Sherman and Penny.

"We were thinking that we were curious about what you guys were talking about," said Sherman.

"You don't just go around listening on peoples' conversations! It's very rude," Mr. Peabody said sternly.

"We're sorry!" Penny piped up.

"Is something wrong?" Mr. Peabody asked.

Sherman and Penny unexpectedly fell silent after hearing that comment. "What?" Penny squeaked.

"Why are you starting to get into trouble so much?" Mr. Peabody questioned.

The only thing Mr. Peabody received was more silence from the confused Sherman and Penny. "It was only twice," said Sherman.

"In the span of just a couple days," Mr. Peabody pointed out. "You've never gotten into trouble this frequently before. Is something wrong?"

"I've just been sad," said Sherman.

"Why?"

"I just want to get home. And I want my presents," Sherman croaked.

"Stop it, Sherman!" Penny yelled.

"But I want them," Sherman whined.

"Guys, don't start this now," Mr. Peabody raised his voice. Then he turned to Sherman with a stern look on his face. "Look, Sherman. If you can't wait just a couple minutes for me to finish a conversation, then you are going to face a lot of difficulties in life. Practically everything in life takes longer than just a few minutes to complete."

Sherman sighed, without saying anything.

"The same goes for you, Penny! I know you weren't yelling at me to hurry up, but you still need to learn."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Peabody," Sherman and Penny said simultaneously.

"You should be sorry," said Mr. Peabody.

The kids said nothing.

"One more thing I have to discuss," Mr. Peabody spoke. "I have to leave for about a half hour tonight. That means you two have to be home alone. Can you guys handle it?"

The silence never seemed to end.

"Would you guys just say something?" said Mr. Peabody.

"Something," said Penny, smirking.

Mr. Peabody rolled his eyes. "Really funny. Anyways, I have to go. I bet you guys can handle being alone. Just be careful, and just take the evening meal when it comes. Save mine for when I get back. Okay?"

"But aren't you not supposed to be outside af-" Sherman started, but was quickly cut off.

"Is that clear?" Mr. Peabody interrupted.

"Yes," Sherman said, falling quiet once again.

"Okay. Do you guys have any questions?"

"Mr. Peabody! Mr. Peabody!" Sherman and Penny replied frantically in an instant.

"I might be here for a while," Mr. Peabody whispered under his breath.

* * *

After a few hours of many questions, complaints, and whines, 6:30 finally rolled around and it was time for Mr. Peabody to leave.

Lucy was found outside right by the front door, waiting for Mr. Peabody.

"Are you ready?" Lucy questioned.

Peabody nodded. "Yes. Anything to get back home."

Lucy nodded. "Okay. There's a bench right there," she started, pointing at a metal bench that was only a few feet from where the two were standing.

"So we sneak that out of the community?" Mr. Peabody asked, beginning to feel twists and turns in his stomach.

"I was thinking of something else," Lucy stated.

"What?"

"Blow it up right here."

"WHAT?"

"You heard me."

Mr. Peabody could feel some unknown force squeezing his stomach as tight as it could. "Right here? But people will find out!"

"No they won't. There's no security cameras here, and nobody's around."

"But..."

All of a sudden, Lucy pulled a satchel charge from her pocket and tossed it at the bench. "You might want to stand back," she said.

"Lucy, I really don't think-"

But Mr. Peabody's words had zero effect on Lucy's actions. She whipped out a gadget with a button from her pocket and pressed it. Soon enough, the metal bench exploded, releasing a deafening boom. The metal bench fell apart into a bunch of scrap metal on the ground.

"I can't believe you just did that!" Mr. Peabody yelled.

Without replying, Lucy grabbed the scrap metal and pushed Mr. Peabody back into the house.

"What was that?" Sherman asked.

"Was that an explosion?" Penny freaked out.

"Yes!" Mr. Peabody replied.

"I've got the scrap metal. Where are you going to build the WABAC?" Lucy asked.

"I'll figure something out," Mr. Peabody replied.

"What caused that explosion?" Sherman questioned.

"I'll explain later!" Mr. Peabody piped up.

The rest of the night was simple. Mr. Peabody quickly explained the cause of the explosion and how insane Lucy was. Lucy had to stay for ten minutes to make sure she didn't get caught.

After that, everything was back to normal.

Sorta.

* * *

**Whew, there's chapter 9. I also had trouble figuring out exactly how to write this chapter, but I got there. Feedback is appreciated.**


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